Indemnity
by theanti
Summary: Naruto gets out of Konoha on a mission of self redemption.
1. Chapter 1 : On the road again

**Story:** Indemnity

**Author:** theanti

**Last Edit Date:** 6/9/05

* * *

**Chapter 1** : _On the road again_

* * *

Can one man really go against fate so hard? Is it possible to overcome fate? Can a nobody become a somebody? In dreams these things seem so superficial as we make our own universes. However in the real world is it that easy? Can a dropout become Hokage? If one man can it is certainly him. The Godaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village of Konoha thought this everyday about Naruto. Uzimaki Naruto has great things expected of him. Fulfilling them is another thing. 

It was a morning like any other. Rushing out the door and almost being late for a mission. That would be the case until reality sunk in for Naruto. It was after that incident. Naruto had lost a lot of faith in himself. His best friend had betrayed him and his village. Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchihas, a lousy piece of scum.

_**'Don't worry about it kid, the Uchiha was a loser anyway. Saving him wasn't important. Let him go to the snake for now he will gain no real power from the snake. All that will come of it will be him losing his body if he stays around there for too long. Avengers never gain power until they learn to protect what they have rather then grieving over what they do not.**'_

_'Shut up you stupid fox get out of my head. I don't want to listen to you right now. If you keep this up I may do something I will regret. Whatever you do don't even try and push it fox.' _Naruto yelled at the Kyuubi.

_**'Insolent boy if you won't talk to me with respect I won't be so kind as to give my power to you anymore. You know my proper name. I am the Kyuubi Kitsune the strongest of the tailed youmas. If you value your existence then use my name!**'_

_'No thanks. I will let you keep you powers. All they do is get me in trouble. I will not be forced to accept you as you are less then me at this time. Just a figment of my imagination is all you are. From now on why don't you keep your powers to yourself.'_

_**'As you wish. Henceforth you shall be reverted to a normal human form without my presence you may feel a bit weaker till your chakra pathways get used to your own chakra.**'_

With that the Kyuubi withdrew from Naruto taking its power with it. Naruto suddenly felt weaker then ever. It was almost as if part of him was gone and in essence that is how it was. Even though Naruto had always had his own high amount of stamina, the Kyuubi just added to it. Without that extra Naruto was still had quite high stamina, but the extra amount just was not there. Naruto suddenly wondered if it was worth trying to be Hokage anymore. Whether or not it was worth putting up with all the looks, insults and pain.

_'Just once,'_ he though, _'let them see me as the boy not that fox I guess it will be easier now at least.'_

As soon as the fox withdrew itself from Naruto, the whisker marks started going away leaving no outwardly visible proof it was within Naruto.

_'It is time for a change, from now on Uzumaki Naruto trains for himself. It is time to work on getting that Uzumaki recognition. I will be the best Hokage in Konoha history.'_

After that Naruto ran all the way to the Hokage's office running right past the guards posted at the entrance.

"Oi, sorry Hokage-sama we did not see him coming and were unable to stop him. Do you wish for us to escort him out?" asked one of the guards.

"No, that is all right. I've been expecting him for some time now. Leave us alone and if anyone else comes tell them I am busy. Leave us now if you will." The Hokage then turned and faced the brat who had just raced in.

"Tsunade-baba, I need to train. I want permission to leave the village to train on my own means. I don't know when I will be back, but rest assured I will be back to gain my rank as Hokage. If you don't give me permission I will leave anyway. The only reason I came to see you is for an official release from duties. I don't want to become a missing nin now do I." Naruto smirked then continued. "If there is nothing else I'll tell you that I'd like to leave as soon as possible."

"Hmm, ok." Tsunade said handing him a pass. "Here is your pass. You can leave, but I will be keeping an eye on you. Take these with you too. They will help you learn some skills. Also included in there is a scroll on taijutsu information it will teach you the basic stances in the taijutsu as well as tell you how to move from them. I suggest you increase your speed about tenfold to effectively use that style though. I must admit getting that style's scroll was a bit of a pain. It was the same style the fouth used." She said as she gave him some scrolls. It wasn't hard to notice that his whisker marks were gone by the older woman. She couldn't help but noticed how much he looked like him. A few more years and he would probably look like a clone of him. _'Hmm, wonder how that happened there,'_ she thought as he was walking off.

* * *

All night Naruto could hardly sleep from the anticipation. _'Training to become stronger, it will be at my pace not the one of that old pervert or lazy Kakashi-sensei. I don't need them now. Kyuubi will help me if only to protect him self. I do not fear him and I know where to go if I need to learn more about him. It's time for me to get stronger.'_

As morning finally came upon Naruto he had managed to get in a few hours of sleep and at the first light of dawn he jumped from his bed so he could get on his way. He didn't feel like packing the same old clothes. They didn't seem to fit him anymore. He didn't want to be the loud person he once was. He had changed since everything had happened. He had become stronger and more determined.

_'I'll just have to get some new clothes when I get to the next town,' _he thought_. 'No use staying here any longer. This place just brings back too many bad memories. Memories I don't want to have to see anymore in my nightmares. The future is imminent and its time to train.'_

As he ran out the door he remembered to pick up the notes he had written out before hand. As he passed Kakashi's house he dropped one there, another at Iruka's house and finally one at Sakura's house. Those people, his precious people, needed to hear where he was from him, not from the mouth of the Hokage. He felt almost sad about leaving the notes. He probably should have seen them and told them himself, but that just wasn't an option now. As he approached the gate a guard called out to him.

"Hey, you there, where do you think you are going?" the guard asked.

"Just to train," he replied with a grin and showed the guard his pass which was approved by the Hokage for an unlimited about of time.

"Ok," replied the guard. "Have fun or whatever." The guard couldn't be more pleased as how the Kyuubi brat was leaving the village. _'Hope he doesn't come back too soon,'_ he thought as the kid ran off into the distance.

* * *

Once he was finally outside the gate and running through the forest he let out a loud yell. 

"Yippee! Its time the world recognized Uzimaki Naruto," and with that he sped off. He couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten himself into. No matter though, he knew this was his calling. No one could stop him now from attaining his goals.

After countless hours he finally reached a small town in the country of fire. It was about dinner time and he guessed it was as good a place as any to stay up for the night. After two bowls of ramen, he had to stop. After all he couldn't afford his ramen addiction anymore since he was paying for it all. He decided to set up his camp at the edge of the forest near the village.

He pulled out a book and started reading on basic ninja tactics and chakra control. After a few hours it had gotten dark and he had tired from the constant amount of knowledge being absorbed into a brain so he decided to go to sleep. He summoned a small frog just larger the Gakimichi to watch over him while he slept. Just to make sure there would be no disturbances.

* * *

As the morning finally approached, the frog jumped on Naruto a few times to wake him up and then it disappeared. Naruto decided he was not ready to eat yet today. For a strange reason his excitement took over his need for food at that moment. He packed up his stuff and ran to the village to look for a clothing shop. 

He quickly found one that was open and went in. He talked to the store owner for a few minutes taking notice on how the people in this village were so much unlike his own. They did not see the boy as the fox, but rather they respected him as the ninja he was. He almost inwardly cringed at noticing how stuck up his village was. He had known they were wrong, but he never knew any other way. Now that he had seen it he didn't know how he had put up with it for all those years.

After about an hour of shopping with help from the shop keeper Naruto exited the shop in one of his new outfits. They were perfectly fitting for him he thought. One consisted of a dark red sleeveless shirt and black training pants with two pockets on each leg. His shirt was covered in a chain mesh top and a utility belt holding his weapons was fastened around his waste hanging from a belt. He wore dark black boots on his feet and fingerless gloves on his hands. Instead of wearing his head band around his head like normal he now had it wrapped around his right arm. He would get a mask soon of the ANBU fashion to make him stand out even more people would still recognize him too much with his face ever so slightly altered. He resigned that it could wait a while before he got to that stage.

When he looked in a mirror he noticed now that his blonde hair didn't suit him anymore with his new atire. He knew just what to do to fix this. He sat down and started to work his way through his brain following the old passage way which was far too familiar. When he reached the Kyuubi's container he yelled at the fox.

_'Hey you, damn fox. I don't want your power but do you think you could change my hair. I know you still want your container to be recognized so can you give me hair the color that yours was, that flaming red color? I don't want you to be to prissy about being not recognized after all.'_ he said to the fox.

_'**So you dare talk to me you insolent fool. It is sad that you know me so well in the regard that I want you recognized as my container should be. By the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, King of the Youma, I hereby grant you your request. You are lucky this seal restricts me from unleashing my wrath on you physically but I guess I will just have to settle for your dream torture. From now on you shall have the same color hair as me, but you best be warned that I am watching you. A brat like you would best take me seriously if you wish to survive.**'_

_'I never said I didn't take you seriously. I am just not in the mood to put up with your overinflated ego right now. Since you've done what I have asked I may ask for your power again some day, but today is not that day.'_

* * *

It was after only a few days traveling that Naruto once again found himself in the Wave Country after crossing the Naruto Big Bridge. It seemed as though a lot had changed in the Wave Country. Their economy seemed to be flourishing and they were once again a happy peaceful town. Tazuna had been appointed the leader of the country as which Naruto noticed on a sign as he was going over the bridge. When he reached the end of the bridge he saw another sign. 

_This bridge, the Naruto Big Bridge, was named after a visiting shinobi who put his life at risk and taught this country the meaning of hope._

'It seems this is another place where people don't see me as the fox. I am beginning to like traveling around,' he thought.

"Hey, you there, who are you and what are you doing staring at that sign for so long." A guard yelled at Naruto, "We don't like people loitering around here."

"Ahh, it's OK," said Naruto, "by the way does Tazuna still live in the same place. I haven't been here in a while to see him and Inari."

"Well if you know them, then you wouldn't mind telling me your name. You must understand we are just trying to protect our leader." The guard explained to the young shinobi.

"Hai," said Naruto. "If you want to know my name all you have to do is look at that sign," he said with a grin.

"Oh, I'm sorry Naruto-san. I didn't know who you were. Please follow me I will take you to Tazuna." The guard said somewhat embarrassed.

The guard lead Naruto through the streets to a big house in the center of town next to what looked like a government building. As they went to the door the guard knocked and then stood next to Naruto while they waited. After about a minute a boy came to the door to see who it was.

* * *

Author's Note:  
More to come soon. Just finally got this chapter to the point I wanted it at. Expect next within the week hopefully. 

_'**Text**'_ – Kyuubi talking to Naruto  
_'Text'_ – Thoughts  
"Text" – Speech

Naruto 'talks' to Kyuubi throught his _'thoughts'_.


	2. Chapter 2 : Old friends

**Story:** Indemnity

**Author:** theanti

**Last Edit Date:** 6/9/05

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**Chapter 2** : _Old friends_

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"Hi Inari," Naruto said, "remember me?"

Inari knew he remembered the voice, but the face and hair had thrown him off. "Naruto? Is that you bro?" he asked.

"Hai, it's me, I told you I would be back," he said as he grinned at the boy.

Inari ran up to Naruto and hugged him tightly while trying not to cry. The little boy had grown up since Naruto had left.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, come quick," Inari yelled into the house. A moment later an old man came running to the door.

"What is it Inari? What happened?" he asked. Then he noticed the shinobi standing next to him. He recognized the hair style immediately, but it looked different to him and he was having trouble placing it.

"Naruto, he came back grandpa," beamed the kid.

"I see, so he has, you look different now Naruto, you have changed for the better I hope," said Tazuna.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Naruto and Inari to get caught up and after a while Naruto was surprised to hear that the Wave Country was going to start up a shinobi village. For the Wave Country this was a major step and since Tazmo was the leader of Wave Country he had been trying to make alliances with other shinobi villages in order to get some help starting up one. Teachers would be needed after all and he needed good teachers who would help in the starting of the village. Naruto told him he should seek out an alliance with the Leaf and to use his name in a formal request to the Hokage.

Tazuna considered this and didn't see why it would not be a good idea, so he sent a messenger to the leaf village bearing a request for an alliance in order to help start up their village. Naruto also explained that if they gained the Leaf's help they should also seek out help from the sand and also the mist since the mist knew the most water based jutsus which would be only common for a Wave Country shinobi to use. Naruto also warned him of the Hidden Sound village and what was happening there and strongly suggested leaving them alone.

About a week later a note came back from the Hokage accepting to send some people within a years time, but since the war in Konoha was just recently they could not afford to let any people with teaching rank to leave so easily, but she suggested to send a small group of children who would want to be training to the leaf to go to the academy there for the time being. About a few hours later a response came from the Mist accepting to send a teaching group of shinobi to help start a new village on the agreement that the Wave Country help them track down missing-nins when they are strong enough for as many years as Mist instructors stay within the Wave as teachers.

Naruto decided that as a service to the people in the Wave Country he would return later as a trainer, but he had to leave soon to continue training. He remembered that one of the reasons he had returned was also to pay respect to the fellow shinobi that died in the Wave Country. He soon arrived at the graves of Zabuza and Haku and couldn't help but admire the sword that was there. He sat down at the grave and said a small prayer and then noticed someone coming so he jumped up into a tree and hid out of sight.

* * *

"So one of the sword's has lost its owner I see," said the man. He then grabbed Zabuza's sword and hefted it from the dirt. He knew he would have to perform the jutsu on it to remove it from its pathetic existence. He then took notice there was another chakra signature nearby.

"You mind as well come out now. I expect you gennin level at best so you are of no threat to me," said the man. A shocked Naruto slowly stepped out into the clearing. "What is a boy like you doing here?"

"I came to pay respects for these two fallen shinobi. What is it to you?" asked Naruto, still a little skeptical of the man.

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself. I am Hoshigake Gikou of the Mist Village, though I am currently a missing-nin. If you know of my brother do not worry I am nothing like him in both appearance and personality." The man explained to the young shinobi.

"Hoshigake? You are Kisame's brother?" Naruto asked being a bit weary of the man.

"Ahh, so you know of my brother. I am sorry if he has brought any hardships your way," said the man.

"Well, I am Uzimaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha. Why are you here by the way?" Naruto asked wearily.

"Simple, I was removing this sword from existence. It was never bound to Zabuza, but he did not finish the ownership jutsu before he left the Mist as a missing-nin. I guess I should tell you, I am the creator of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Myst," he said while performing the hand seals. "Suiton: Houmotsu Gomu" and the sword was gone.

"Well, seems like there is only six now, what did you mean ownership jutsu? I thought his sword was done since he handled it so well," Naruto said to the man.

"If he had done the jutsu it would have changed from its original appearance and made it more personalized to him. Much like my brothers grew shark scales, which is very much a part of who he is," said Gikou while flashing Naruto a very shark-like grin.

"Well, since you're here I was wondering if you would like to make it seven again. How about it? Make a sword for little old me? It's the least I could do for helping take down one of them. The seven legends should remain legends and even though there are only six now a seventh should be chosen as seven is the magic number," said a very old sounding Naruto.

"Wow, for a kid you sure have some insight. Well, more then my ugly brother that's for sure. Since you seem to be special, I think I will make you one of the special seven. They are not as looked up to in the mist anymore and moving on wouldn't be such a bad idea I suppose. Come with me to my shop in the Hidden Sand and lets see what I can do. How about it kid?" asked the legendary sword smith.

"You make a good offer there old man lets leave soon though ok?" said a grinning Naruto.

After Naruto said his goodbyes and promised to come back soon he and the old man left for the Hidden Sand Village in the Wind Country.

* * *

Somewhere between the Wave and the Sand Naruto looked up to the old man and asked. "Hey when is the last time you saw your brother?"

"Kisame?" Naruto nodded. "Well, I guess it has been about a year now. He comes to me for maintenece on it every so often. It seems he is growing impatient with the organization he is working for. All those other ninjas he works with besides his partner are too power hungry he says."

"Then why did he join? Do you know?" queried Naruto. _'Wow, maybe I have misjudged Kisame,'_ he thought.

"He was looking for a way to get back at some of the other missing ninjas from the mist who wronged him and he figured the stronger the organization he joined the more chance he had at killing them off rather then them being in a better organization and him dieing. By killing Zabuza I think you did him a favore actually. That was one of his prime suspects since they were so close before Zabuza tried to kill the Mizukage," explained the man to the young shinobi who was listening.

"Well, Glad I could help I guess," said Naruto giving a foxy grin.

"Damn thats creepy," said the old man. "Well we should be in the Sand soon. We should stock up on water here. I like to carry extra since I do many water jutsus which require me to use water so extra always help me not have to draw it out of the air, which can be a problem in the wind country."

"Ok, lets stop and eat some ramen."

"Whatever you say kid," smirked the old man.

* * *

They hadn't been in the desert long when the Kyuubi decided to speak up to Naruto.

_'**Hey kid, that Gaara kid is around. I sense my old buddy Shukaku.**'_

_'What the hell go away I know already you annoying fox,'_ Naruto thought in a rather cold tone to the fox. _'Hope he recognizes me and doesn't attack.'_

"Uzumaki Naruto why are you here?" asked Gaara as he approached the travelers. "You look different from before."

"Hey Gaara!" smirked Naruto. "How have you been? I hope you haven't been mass killing random people out here because Shukaku asks you to."

"No…" said the small Raccoon incarnate. "I was wondering about our last fight. Is that where your strength comes from? Protecting friends?"

"Hai, do you want to be my friend too Gaara?" he asked with a style'mso-spacerun:yes'>bright smile.

"Very well," Gaara said trying to maintain a small fraction of a grin as a sign of friendship.

"Cool, well we are going to your village. You wanna come with us?" Naruto asked the green eyed boy.

"Ok…" he said and they continued on. "Tell me about this guy, he is a sword smith right?"

"Yes I am Gaara-sama," said the old man still fearful of the tales he had hear of the Kazekage's son. "Sorry to hear of your father's death. He was a great man for the Sand village. The Otokage had no right to do that to him."

"Oi, Gaara whats this baka talking about Snake freak for?" asked an intrigued Naruto.

"He killed my father," said a rather calm Gaara. "I do not wish to speak further on it. Why have you come Naruto?"

"Well, see this guy made the Seven Swords of the Mist and since I killed one of them a while ago, I asked him if I could take over and be the new seventh. He was the seventh right old man?"

"Yes, that lazy brat was the seventh. His sword was never finished because of his traitorous ways. I would have killed him myself if I had the chance. He practically stole that sword from me," scoffed the old man. "Young master Gaara-sama why were you out here?"

"I sensed him," said Gaara pointing to Naruto, "as soon as you two crossed the wind country threshold."

"Wow…" said the sword smith. "I never recognized how strong your aura really is until now." He would have practically dropped to his feet in awe if he had not kept his wits about him. "That power seems ancient. You know almost like and old friend with bad intention. You are a container like the young master aren't you? I was wondering how you knew my brother. You are the one from Konoha who he always talks about with high regard. He says you know the true way of the ninja. He was wondering if he would be able to get one of your sensei's books."

"Ahh, I'm surrounded by perverts. Damn why are there so many in this world?" asked and exasperated Naruto. "Well, I am the countainer of the damn fox even though he doesn't like being called that, that's what he is. I guess you can use that as an answer to your question Gaara. I asked him to change my appearance. I thought I looked cooler and downright sexier this way."

"Heh, ok Uzumaki," said Gaara with a half smirk.

* * *

When they arrived at the workshop of the sword smith, _Garyuu Ittou_, they opened the shop and then Naruto went with Gaara to see his siblings before dinner.

"Welcome home Gaara," Kankouro said before noticing Naruto. "Why did you bring him here?"

"Shut up fool." Temari said while smacking Kankouro on the head with her fan. "I am glad you are here. I wanted to thank you for saving our brother from his demon." Temari kissed Naruto on the cheek to show her appreciation which received a rather crimson blush from the recently red-headed shinobi.

"Well, any good ramen stands here in the Sand?" asked a hungry Naruto. They all looked at him confused and then just sighed. "Guess not then… well any food will do as long as its good!"

"Ok, lets go," said Gaara as he was already halfway out the door.

After a quick meal, well at Naruto's eating pace anyway, Gaara and his siblings headed home while Naruto headed towards Gikou's shop which was connected to his home. His home wasn't much but it provided enough sleeping room for about five people with two beds in a total of two guest bedrooms and a larger bed in the master bedroom. Naruto chose the room opposite from the one where Itachi and Kisame always slept when they visited Gikou to get the Samaheda sharpened.

As Naruto layed down he thought back to something Gaara had said earlier about an internal uprising and the old regime taking over the sand. He noted that he would ask Gikou about it tomorrow if he remembered.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Thanks for the reviews to those of you who have reviewed. I'll address them all really quick as well as put some of the plot that I know of into perspective. No this will not be a temari x naruto fanfic this early in the fic. I am far from the heart of the story right now. My writing seems to go all over but I hope I am making it easy to follow. Naruto x OC Maybe partially (eg maybe oc dies) I like to end up with naruto with someone from the manga and I must admit I enjoy reading Naruto x Kurenai for some weird reason. Anything is possible. I tend to follow certain C2's perspectives just as how I envision my fic. _Baka turned Badass_ as well as _COOL not DeadLast_ will give you a little perspective as to where this may turn/has started to turn. Anyway please keep up with the reviews. I like ideas.

_'**Text**'_ – Kyuubi talking to Naruto  
_'Text'_ – Thoughts  
"Text" – Speech

Naruto 'talks' to Kyuubi throught his _'thoughts'_.


	3. Chapter 3 : The way of the Sword

**Story:** Indemnity

**Author:** theanti

**Last Edit Date:** 6/16/05

* * *

**Chapter 3** : _The way of the Sword_

* * *

When Naruto awoke the next morning he was surprised to see the sun was already high in the sky. Curious as to how he had been asleep so long he went off to look for Gikou in the workshop. When he got there he saw Gikou snoozing in a corner and suddenly everything made sense. He figured there wasn't much else he could do now so he left a note for Gikou and went to see Gaara.

It didn't take him long to spot Gaara scouting the borders alone. So he ran up to him.

"Hey Gaara wanna go get some ramen?" he asked.

"Fine, I haven't eaten yet today so now would be sufficient," said Gaara in a tone only Gaara could have when around someone as full of life as Naruto.

After their midday lunch, which consisted of Naruto eating upwards of twenty bowls of ramen. They went back to Gikou's workshop to notice the man still asleep in the corner. They decided to look around and soon found a room filled with hundreds of swords from katanas down to daggers and some of the biggest swords Naruto had ever seen before. They almost made the Samaheda look small to some extent. They decided they would try and wake the old man up and well Naruto seemed to find the perfect way.

"What's up bro?" asked the small frog summon Gakimichi. "Why'd you summon me? I hope you don't have to fight again," said Gakimichi while looking around. When he noticed Gaara he hopped up onto Naruto's head to hide, but Naruto assured him it was ok. Then they told him their plan.

A few moments later a very grumpy and soggy Gikou was awake. "Damn brats," he cursed under his breath still fearing what Gaara might do to him if he were any louder.

Gikou decided he should start Naruto on the path to swordsmanship by teaching him the basics of Kenjutsu. He led Naruto to the room full of swords and told Naruto to pick up one of the rather heavy ones.

"This is a training sword Naruto, this will let you increase your swordsmanship and strength while I train you. When you get your final sword, you will be much faster and be a force to be reckoned with." With that said he led Naruto into a training dojo under his workshop.

"What are we doing here old man?" asked Naruto when they finally arrived in the dojo.

"This is where your training begins Naruto. I'm sorry but right now you are not worth my time to train as I am an elite swordsman and only when you have show yourself to be superior will I take you under my wing personally. The Hoshigake kenjutsu is one of the most feared styles in the land and when you train under me, you will be developing a kenjutsu specific to your sword. Needless to say that you will not be training under me for a while if you don't get the basics down as you will need to be part of the making of the sword for it to recognize you then allow you to do the ownership jutsu on it." After his long spiel he then set up a basic Genjutsu that would allow Naruto to explore the basics of Kenjutsu and the illusion would last as long as needed until Naruto was a competent sword handler.

As days and weeks went by Naruto was still training at Kenjutsu and trying his best to increase his strength without destroying the illusion just so he could come out ahead of the game. As Gikou watched through his hidden camera in the dojo he saw exactly what the boy was doing. 'Tomorrow I think I will stop him as he has come far enough to be under my wing of guidance. I'm glad I finally have a successor as talented as my brother,' thought the old man as he continued to watch the boy. It had only been 5 weeks and Naruto was progressing fast.

The next day Gikou went down to the dojo to observe Naruto for a while to look for a weak spot. Surprisingly he couldn't find one as the boy was too fast for him to keep up with allowing for very little reaction time even with such a big sword. "Ok Naruto," he yelled, "you can break the illusion now. You are ready to make the sword."

"YOSH!" shouted Naruto. He was finally happy that his new sensei had found him to be ready as he knew he was ready some time ago. 'He must have seen me holding back,' thought Naruto a bit disgruntled.

After a quick bath and meal for Naruto they went into the forging room which was surprisingly chilly. "As you may have noticed this is the forging room. I have seen how well you do with a large sword, so I think we will make you a sword very similar to Zabuza's own sword. Now I'm sure since you are from the leaf you know a few basic fire spells," said Gikou to the frowning boy.

_'**Hey kid I think this will help you now in making your sword. Sorry to interrupt but from what I have known the hotter the flame the better the sword will turn out. seeing as you will want a hellishly powerful sword you will need to use the flames of hell to make it. I will give you this jutsu free of charge and make sure you use it wisely. Anyways see you.**'_ said the fox as he disappeared. Naruto suddenly found he had a new jutsu in his arsenal.

_'Damn fox always poking his nose in. Anyways this thing looks powerful.'_

"Ok boy, whenever you are ready send some flames into the kiln. They will stay there until the sword is finished," explained Gikou.

"Hai, Hijutsu: Ennetsujigoku (Secret Skill: Flames of Hell)," said Naruto as he breathed out pure white flames into the kiln.

"Holy mackerel kid, what are you trying to do explode my kiln?" asked Gikou as he was still in awe at the power of the technique that was done in front of him.

"He he, sorry old man I just wanted the strongest sword possible under me and I heard from a friend that a hotter flame makes a stronger sword," explained Naruto while giving a foxy grin, which the old man couldn't distinguish between one of malice or a smirk.

* * *

A day or two had gone by since they had started forging the sword and Naruto had finally seen his creation starting to take shape. The hours he had spent folding layer after layer of raw metal into the combination had seemed never ending, but finally he was seeing an end to the infernally boring process.

"Good boy, with this sword you may be able to do some real damage. Now let's finish it up so we can eat." Naruto finally melted down an old platinum katana which Gaara had found after one of his sanity lapses. The platinum katana was made into the blades tip and gave it a little extra strength, not that it needed it.

The end result was a six foot long sword with a foot long handle coming off the end. It lean and mean, about six katanas from edge to edge in width. Although the sword was currently too large for Naruto to carry normally on his back, Gikou assured Naruto that he would grow into the proper size to carry it that way and for now they would just use a special strapping method.

After a mild meal, consisting of twelve bowls of ramen for Naruto, they went into a clearing deep in the desert. When they arrived there Gikou handed Naruto a scroll containing a technique. Upon looking at the technique Naruto found it to be the ownership jutsu that he was to perform on the sword to make him its one true owner. The basis of the technique included a special hand seal not known to Naruto which Gikou told him was the life seal. It was an easy hand seal, but it was new to Naruto so he made a note to ask the fox later if there were any other jutsu he could later lean which used the seal. He figured as long as Orochimaru didn't take over Sasuke's body, Sasuke would probably not know this new seal and therefore be unable to copy the jutsu from him.

"OK boy, when you are ready you will need to perform the hand seals and then slice your hand on the sword and place your hand on the sword and release chakra onto the blade. It shouldn't take long, but as long as you keep pouring out more chakra the sword will become stronger and stronger as it is infused with more of your chakra." With that he left Naruto to do the jutsu and stepped a few steps back and sat on a log.

"Kenzoushoin no Jutsu (Sword Mark of Ownership)," Naruto shouted after going through the seals he had learned earlier then he shouted, "Fuuinjutsu: Innaaraifu Fuuin (Sealing technique: Inner Life Seal)," sealing a bit of his life force into the sword as he quickly cut his hand and then placed it on the sword and began to emit chakra into the sword. He kept emitting chakra and slowly some of the red chakra that was that of the kyuubi started leaking out and infused itself with the sword. After three hours of constantly molding chakra into the sword he finally collapsed.

Gikou just stood there in awe at the amount of power the boy had released that chakra it was pure and good and yet he felt the evilness and contempt also. Little did he know Gaara was sitting right next to him when Naruto had finally collapsed. He looked up to Gaara his face still in awe as he had seen a huge sand barrier around the area where they were. Slowly the barrier began to collapse after Naruto had drifted off to sleep.

"Gaara-sama, why are you here?" asked a curious Gikou.

"I felt his chakra, I came to protect him," said Gaara with no hint of emotions in his voice. Gikou couldn't help but smile at how much Gaara had changed since his younger days of terrorizing. Gikou was old by no means, but he had been around when Gaara was young and could clearly remember the Shukaku breaking out a few times and Gaara didn't even seem to care, but now, he had a precious person, he was on a path to leadership and with his brains and power a future Kazekage no doubt. The old regime had better hang on to their lives.

* * *

It was on the tenth day after the sword infusion that Naruto finally awoke. He woke up from the grumbling of his own stomach to find Gaara sitting in a corner staring at him. He sat up not knowing where he was but finally recognized he was back in Gikou's workshop.

"Hey Gaara, how long have you been here?" he asked the younger boy.

"Since you finished that stupid jutsu. You weren't supposed to pour all of your chakra into the sword. You can die from chakra exhaustion you know," explained Gaara. It was the most the boy had said in a long time and Naruto just smirked when he realized it. He was happy his friend cared about him. It looked as if Gaara had finally found a precious person and was back on the right path.

"Hmm Gaara, you want to go get some lunch?" he asked. Gaara just nodded and stood up. With an exasperated sigh Naruto just followed Gaara out of the bedroom door to find Gikou staring at a strange sword. Naruto walked over to the sword and looked at it. It was a beautiful sword that seemed to almost have a soul of its own permeating from it. The pure power of the sword was insane. As he looked closer at the sword he could see it was a dark red, almost black, but in the light it looked the color of blood. When he got closer yet he could see an etching of a fox's eyes that held so much sorrow yet were projecting a happy image. They looked like his eyes. The eyes Naruto had hidden behind for so many years.

_'Hmm, I may need to see that fox a little later. It seems I may have misjudged the fur ball, but for now I need to get something to eat,'_ he thought as he picked up the sword and attached it to his back with some straps. "Lets go Gaara," he simply said.

* * *

After Naruto's insatiatable hunger for Ramen was temporarily sated, due to the lack of money he had within his wallet, he and Gaara went to a training field to let Naruto test the sword on someone of his caliber.

"Get ready Gaara, I won't be holding back now as I want to see just how much this sword can do against an ultimate defense such as yours," explained Naruto. A small resemblance of a smirk could be seen on the son of the late Kazekage. He wasn't surprised however when Naruto darted at him at seemingly the speed of light.

_'How much has he improved since our last battle?' thought Gaara. 'His speed is starting to break past the sand which always protects me and it seems as though he is just getting started. I better keep myself focused this time. No telling what might happen if I don't. This speed, it seems like that weird looking kid from Konoha has someone who may rival him.'_ "Naruto, you are fast," he stated simply, "stop holding back though."

"Heh, sorry Gaara, but I can't seem to bring myself to hurt my friends. However I do enjoy beating up your sand as that Shukaku is one stupid teme." With his words out of the way Naruto shot like a rocket at Gaara his sword over his head wielded like a katana even though it was many times bigger.

_'It seems he's stronger too. I don't want to let Shukaku out and I don't think he will let Kyuubi out of him either. I suppose it is time to fight back.'_ Gaara commanded his sand to surround Naruto and started trying to crush Naruto but his sand was not able to. With a quick spin Naruto was able to break out of the sand with his sword and was charging at Gaara. "Saikou Zettai Bougyo Shukaku No Tate (Supreme Ultimate Defense Shield of Shukaku)," yelled Gaara as the form of Shukaku appeared before him as a shield. Naruto looked at the shield and smirked. Surrounding the sword with chakra he rammed it right into the shield.

"Sorry Gaara, but you're gonna have to do better then that," Naruto said as his sword began to penetrate through the shield. Gaara was at a disadvantage as that attack used up much of his chakra. He was nowhere near able to produce as much chakra as Naruto as Shukaku was only one of the minor demon lords. The one tail possessed nowhere near the amount of chakra that the demon lord, Kyuubi no Kitsune, had in his possession.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Sorry for the long time with no updates. I have been doing a lot of thinking with this particular chapter as to where I want the story to go next. I have a good idea, but suggestions are always welcomed so please R&R. Next chapter I don't expect to take that long. Akatsuki will most likely be making an appearance as I know some people want to see what's going on with Kisame and Itachi in this fic. I've been reading almost all the other non-yaoi fics there are above 40k words just trying to get some inspiration and basically due to boredom. Expect and update soon and remember R&R. And for those of you wondering I may be down but I am most definitely not out.

_'**Text**'_ - Kyuubi talking to Naruto  
_'Text'_ - Thoughts  
"Text" - Speech

Naruto 'talks' to Kyuubi through his _'thoughts'_.


	4. Chapter 4 : A Golden Opportunity

**Story:** Indemnity

**Author:** theanti

**Last Edit Date:** 7/9/05

* * *

**Chapter 4** : A Golden Opportunity

* * *

Gaara had lost without his sand being able to fully protect him from Naruto's sword. The young kitsune was quite a handful and a bit too much for Gaara. Naruto on the other hand didn't like dwelling on depressing things so he was trying to think of someway to help Gaara out. He remembered how Gaara was never able to sleep due to Shukaku escaping when he does, so he decided on asking his tummy pal for some help. 

_'Hey fox you there? I got a question for you. Do you know anything about seals?'_ the fox smirked when Naruto approached his bars and asked. _'I wanna help out Shukaku's vessel and I figured since Shukaku is a bastard you might help.'_

_'**You never seem to stop amusing me kit. I myself have never needed seals, but when I used to travel the world I ran into a monastery that worked with them a lot. If you are interested, I think you may want to go there. It is just across the border in the fire country.**'_ Naruto was pleased with the information he had obtained and he told Gaara that he would be going for a while to learn some new techniques.

A few days later Naruto ended up in a monastery which was located surprisingly just across the bored in the fire country. (AN: shock lol) Naruto was in no way accustomed to the life styles of monks so when he arrived late one night he did not know that the monks were asleep, so he thought the monastery might have been closed, after all he had listened to a fox who had been alive for several thousand years. He walked around the perimeter and could not see, hear, nor detect anyone, so he leaned up against the door and dozed off after his journey.

The next morning when he was awoken by a sound of a rather loud gong clanging at dawns first light. He looked around and noticed the monastery coming to life. _'Guess it's not dead,'_ he thought as he sat up. A short while later a man came out to the door of the monastery where Naruto was sitting.

"Hello Welcome to Sealing Monastery of the Fire Country. Do you seek guidance young shinobi of the leaf?" asked the monk after seeing the leaf insignia upon Naruto's forehead. He noted this boy seemed a bit strange as if he was older then time itself and he couldn't help but notice how much the boy looked like him.

"Hai, I want to learn sealing," explained Naruto to the monk.

"Follow me then," he said as he led Naruto into the monastery grounds and through a long cluster of mazes until they reached a large opening. "This is the main monastery hall. Go to the master of the monastery for acceptance. He is located over there," the monk pointed to a door at the far wall, "knock twice and swipe some blood on the door and the master will determine if he wishes to see you or not today."

Naruto walked up to the door and did what the monk had told him to. Within two seconds the door flung open and the old man standing there looked at the boy with awe. "You may enter young one. Your blood intrigues me," he said to Naruto as he stepped back and motioned for Naruto to enter.

* * *

"Would I be correct in assuming you are a container for the demon known as Kyuubi no Kitsune?" he asked Naruto. With a nod from Naruto he continued, "Well not only that but your blood is famous. The blood of the Kages, the fire shadows of the leaf. I sense blood from the first and from the fourth in you. What do I owe such a special meeting to?" he asked a shocked Naruto. 

"First and Fourth?" Naruto questioned. "I am related to them?" Naruto asked still in awe at what he had just learned.

"Well the second two if you want to count that the first was the seconds older brother and then if you want you can also include the fifth as she is the granddaughter of the second. You are true royalty in the leaf yet you do not hold such a royal presence. Why is that?" he questioned the blonde.

After the blondes story the old monk scoffed at the leaf village and how much it had fallen to not recognize the royalty. According to the monk the first had had a granddaughter of his own, Tsunade's cousin, who died in the battle between Kyuubi, who was most likely Naruto's mother noticing the blood was so close to the firsts and just slightly more then the seconds. He had been young, about sixteen as he was just a little younger then Sarutobi, when he had met the infamous founders of the leaf. He also remembered when the fourth had come to the school back when he was under Jiraiya's tutelage to train in sealing and he was never more proud when he learned about the seal his student had created. "I think I will take you under my wing as my time grows shorter and I wish to learn more about you."

Countless hours later, okay maybe about five, Naruto followed the old master to a room with long tables in which monks had began to fill. He told Naruto to his right as he sat at the head of the table. Not long after a girl sat across from him and whispered something to the master which made the master chuckle before he shook his head. "Naruto, this is my niece, Moroi, she is under the tutelage of one of the other monks here. She is seventeen, so you should talk to her with respect as she is your elder."

"Ohayo Moroi-chan. It's nice to meet you." Naruto said to the blushing girl. "Oops, I'm sorry I mean Moroi-san." He added while rubbing the back of his head while he was sporting his signature smirk.

"Oideyasu, Naruto-san, you are welcome to call me Moroi-chan if you wish. May I call you Naruto-kun?" she asked with a smile even though her cheeks were rather tinted in a rose color. _'He's cute,'_ was all she could think about.

"Hai," he said with that foxy grin. "Let's eat!"

* * *

It took Naruto a while to learn the ins and outs of sealing, but he was a natural. He just seemed to have that certain affinity for anything he put his mind too. Over the months he had seen more and more of Moroi-chan and had seemed to forget that any other girl existed. Yes, our young kitsune was smitten. She didn't even flinch when he had told her about the kitsune he was carrying around and he found out how truly amazing it is when people see you for whom you truly are. Moroi couldn't get over Naruto's cheery personality and it was infectious throughout the monastery. He just seemed to liven up the monastery and make it all the livelier. 

After a while he got into the really serious seals. Used to store away demons and he had already confessed to Gyouko, the monastery master and his teacher, about his ambitions when it came to sealing. The old man had fallen into the grandfather role for Naruto, telling him stories during their training about Yondaime and what he had known about Naruto's mother. Naruto was even offered a position as a teacher for incoming learners as his personality allowed him to get through to almost anyone and his knowledge bank had increased in leaps and bounds. He touched his sword and was awestruck once again by its majestic presence. He had thought back to what Gikou had told him before he left.

**-- FLASHBACK --**

"Naruto, listen to me I have something very important to tell you. I am very proud of you and you must promise to come back soon. I really do wish to let you become a member of the seven swordsmen of the mist because you have the heart we always looked for in upcoming swordsmen. It is such a rare trait that we look past the nationality and every other factor." Gikou looked into Naruto's eyes directly before continuing, "You possess one of the strongest swords ever made and it is up to you to find out its specialty, be it chakra absorption or chakra poisoning. Make sure you keep it with you always and take this scroll with you so you can summon it if it ever gets out of your possession. You will find how to do it in the scroll. Before you go, I need a name for your sword as I will need to inform the other five, not including myself. We will all assemble for a ceremony to make you official in the future. So have you chosen a name?"

"Hai, Gikou-sensei I wish to call it Tendou no Ken(Sword of Divine Justice/Destiny)," said Naruto.

**-- END FLASHBACK --**

'Hmm, wonder how the old man is doing. I need to talk to him and his brother one of these days. Maybe pound the hell out of Itachi too for making his brother such a bastard.' Naruto thought. He noticed a young boy who had just started at the monastery about a month or so ago.

"Ohayo Naruto-sensei," the boy said with a grin, "Moroi-sensei said you could help up with elemental sealing today since you are good at it." Yes our young kitsune was a teacher now teaching others the basics which he had gotten so used to they were like a second nature. His training with jutsu scrolls he had brought with him were done with Naruto learning a little over one hundred new jutsu from the scrolls and then there was the taijutsu scroll Tsunade had given him. It was all based off of a technique though which Naruto was learning fast. He would soon master it and not need hand seals for the jutsu which was a key factor of the style, but now he was off to teach.

"Hai, lets go Hosaki-kun, to the training grounds." and off the went to the training grounds. It was a huge yard with fires burning around it and a small fountain in the middle. He walked up to Moroi and put his arm around her.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun," she said even though her face was slightly tainted red.

"Ohayo Moroi-chan, are you ready to start the lesson?" he asked her. With a nod they were off. Naruto was teaching the students to pull the flames into the note and bind them with chakra, while Moroi helped them do the same with water. Those were the main elements that could be easily stored as they had the most use when stored. After a weary morning of teaching and a restful lunch with Moroi by his side, Naruto headed off to practice his taijutsu.

* * *

"Shuunshin no jutsu," he yelled while trying to focus his chakra without hand seals. Suddenly an after image of Naruto appeared as he ran a few feet away from where he was standing. He had finally mastered the shuunshin and now had to master the speed needed. Naruto used some of the sealing he had learned and placed a seal on him to allow him to feel a higher amount of gravity according to how much chakra he infused. So every day Naruto gradually increased the chakra into the seal and after about three months he had gained the speed required but he still kept on a small amount of chakra in the seals so he could keep getting better. After the speed was mastered it didn't take Naruto more then a week to get the attacks down as they were just power blows relying on the speed. 

He decided to send a letter to Tsunade telling her of his newest abilities with the shuunshin, but he needed to find a more reliable messenger then a frog. While they may be good for information gathering they were most definitely not good for deliveries. He knew he needed a lost contract so there would be no interruptions and no other shinobis could summon the same summons to gain information about him.

_'Yo Kyuubi no Kitten I need a dead summon contract that can fly. You know of any?'_ he asked the seething fox.

_'**Damn you kit a little respect please, but yes I know of one that you can probably dig up with a little power to force it out. The phoenix contract has been dead for quite a while and they are friends with the fox's so I would like to see you have a decent contract like them. Just use these seals and call upon the lord of the phoenix, Gooruden. You should do it far away though because it might get hot.**'_

"Hijutsu: Kyuichose Keiyakukoukai no Jutsu (Secret Skill: Summoning Contract Renewal Technique)," Naruto yelled and suddenly a huge golden bird shot out of the cloud of smoke the jutsu made.

"So, I have been summoned I see was it you blondie who has summoned me? I thought out contract line was dead." said the phoenix.

"Hai, it was I used a skill in hopes of renewing the contract as I need good messengers and Kyuubi no Kitsune recommended the phoenix contract." explained Naruto.

"Hmm, where is Kyuubi I sense him coming from your direction, but do not see him tell me where he is and I shall sign you to the contract. It has been a great deal of time since I have seen my old friend."

"Sorry Gooruden, but you will not be able to see him as he is sealed within me after he was caught 15 years ago destroying the village of Konoha. Perhaps I can let him speak though a shadow clone to you." Naruto said while creating a clone and allowing Kyuubi to control it.

"**Hah its good to see you again old friend.**" Kyuubi told the Gooruden after he played around with Naruto's looks to grow the ears and tails a hanyou would have, since it was the most he could do. "**Please allow my kit to have this contract. He has done me a great deal today by letting me talk to you. Don't get mouthy and bossy of him like you did of those other summoners either as when you talk to him you are also talking to me. Remember that.**" Kyuubi said before leaving the shadow clone and Naruto disbursed it.

"Here boy sign this contract and you shall be a summoner of the legendary phoenix. Call on me anytime." Naruto signed the contract that had appeared in front of him and then he summoned a phoenix which was similar to summoning a frog. All he had to do was think of which animal he wanted to summon and it worked how he wanted.

"Boy do you have another contract? I didn't even need to tell you the seals. Call forth your other boss and let me speak to him will you?" asked the phoenix after the younger phoenix left seeing as his boss was there.

"Kyuichose no Jutsu," Naruto once again yelled calling forth Gamabunta.

"Oi brat why did you call me this time?" Gama asked when he finally noticed Gooruden. "OH, Gooruden. It's been a while since your kind has been to this plain. This brat got a contract with you now?" he asked the other boss.

"Yea, think we should give him the seals to help him?" Gooruden asked. Gama just nodded then Gooruden spoke to Naruto. "If you agree we can give you seals for the Summoning Master which allows you to summon us through seals which will be placed on your arms. It will also let you call other bosses if you want to awaken other contracts. Kyuubi may want you to call those foxes soon too." he said almost knowingly of the fox. Naruto agreed and suddenly seals started forming on his arms between his hands and elbows. "For each contract a different color will appear on the seals and just wipe blood on that color and you will summon the contract corresponding to the color. Frogs will be red as is Gama's color and Phoenix will be golden like me. We must be off now and thanks for awakening our contract we hope you pass it on." the phoenix said as he and Gamabunta left in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Author's Note:  
This turned into a fun chapter after half of it got erased when I was midway through. So that's one reason it took a while. I thought Golden was a good name for the Phoenix boss because I couldn't think of anything else. A little Naruto x OC action happening slowly if you notice. Naruto won't be at the sealing monastery much longer though, but it will be long enough ;). Updates coming soon maybe R&R please. 

_'**Text**'_ - Kyuubi talking to Naruto  
_'Text'_ - Thoughts  
"Text" - Speech

Naruto 'talks' to Kyuubi through his _'thoughts'_.


	5. Chapter 5 : The Master

**Story:** Indemnity

**Author:** theanti

**Last Edit Date:** 8/6/05

* * *

**Chapter 5** : _The Master_

* * *

Naruto continued on at the Sealing School for a few more months perfecting seals and while learning stuff from the scrolls he had brought with him and teaching the newer students sealing. He had talked to the fox and gotten the fox summon which was added to his arm after a fox bit him. He found it oddly amusing that the fox summoning color had turned up in purple on his arm and he also noticed the summoning contract colors forming the heads of the summoned group in the color when they were activated.

His letter to Tsunade trough his phoenix summon went better then he had imagined. He had found a perfect size phoenix with a four foot wing span that he was able to summon almost all the time. He was glad his chakra control was getting better and Gakimichi was also pleased when he got out more. Naruto's letter told Tsunade very little but let on he had found out about his family and asked if she knew as well. It also said that he was training in sealing and had learned most of the scrolls she had given him. He also told her that the number of techniques one needed in order to be Hokage was highly insignificant and wondered how everyone didn't get to be Hokage. When the response came from Tsunade it explained to him that the third had kept very close wraps on who Naruto's parents were and even she did not truly know even though she had suspicions. She was surprised in the way his letter had been sent and was also surprised to hear about his sealing training. She made quite a snide remark about his number of techniques saying it was just a way to keep snot nosed brats like him in line so they didn't try and take over at age five.

It was a few days later that Naruto spoke with Gyouko wondering if it was possible to modify the seal on him to let the fox's chakra merge with his own and also create some other seals connected to it to allow the fox's soul to be moved. He had found the fox to be quite different when he was low on chakra and thought that the chakra might be something that was keeping the fox so ruthless. He had found out from Gyouko that it was possible but it would take both of them to do in case Naruto could not control the sealing when it was affecting his own self. Naruto agreed and two days later Naruto drew out all the seals which Gyouko found to be a large amount when he entered the highest sealing room at five in the morning and it looked as though Naruto had already been drawing seals for hours. Naruto said it was to make sure everything went ok and explained some of the seals in which he had drawn out.

He had made a gravity seal, for his right shoulder, to allow him to modify his personal gravity through his chakra so he could change it as needed and not have to worry in a battle. He had drawn a power seal which would look like a giant fox on his chest to handle the chakra of the Kyuubi. The fox would have tails which would change from black to the color of one of the supremacies the Kyuubi controlled. Naruto knew them to be fire, water, wind, earth, light, poison, plant, darkness, and nature. When he had learned the supremacies power and he had merged with the portion of Kyuubi's chakra that controlled a specific element the supremacy would activate and he would then need to learn from Kyuubi how to work with the element. Finally on his left shoulder would reside the soul seal, basically a nicer prison for Kyuubi which was about three times as strong as the Yondaime's seal even thought it was probably not needed. Yes, Naruto was a prodigy second to none at the sealing school having effectively made one of the strongest seals for Gyouko and performing it with relative ease.

**-- Flashback --**

A wealthy clan heir from a clan out of the Lightning Country had come to the monastery with ten of his best healers in order to have a seal placed upon him. He was the heir to his clan as well as a ninja and his clan elders had forced him to come to the monastery to get the seal done. They had proposed him to get a healing seal which would make sure he did not die in battle as he was known to get carried away sometimes. Naruto had begged Gyouko for hours till the old master had finally allowed Naruto to come up with the seal. For a week Naruto had the healers give him half of their healing chakra each day. He knew they needed to keep some in case something happened so half each day had been sealed into notes and then at the end of the week he had spent hours under the eye of Gyouko drawing out the seals and asking the heir if he had any specific wish for the placement and design of the seal.

"My clan is said to be as strong as a bull so perhaps a bull design would suffice, but I do not wish for it to look like a seal perhaps it could go on my arm and shoulder to look like a cool tattoo?" he had asked Naruto. Naruto being as creative as he was, which he had learned from pranking in his younger years, had done it with relative ease and as soon as the seals were drawn and the storage seals placed around the main seal Naruto had the leader lay in the middle and he preformed a release of the healing seals and then he quickly brought it all together into a seal on the mans shoulder and upper arm.

**-- End Flashback --**

He had gained much acclaim for his sealing and was one of the most sought after sealers in the whole region now. Since then he had only done one major sealing and he had been solicited enough by all the tattoo artists in the reason asking him to make up some tattoo designs for ANBU who often wanted tattoos that coincided with their masks. He had made up his own mask as he knew there would never be a fox mask in Konoha that met up to his standards and his seals would be the tattoo to go with it.

* * *

Finally after everything was ready Gyouko sat on the outside of the seal while the older monks sat around the perimeter of the room to watch the sealing. Sure they had seen sealings of minor demons, but never had they witnessed the sealing of one of the strongest demons. Well it was really just a resealing, but it was still impressive at the strength of the seals that were laid out in front of them. Some of them had heard of the strength of Yondaime's seals and when they saw his sons they were blown away. It seemed to them Uzumaki was also synonymous with Seal Master.

Naruto started the sealing and was surprised at how easily it was going. He then noticed it taxing him and told Gyouko to take over just in case. He had made it fairly easy for the sealer requiring nothing other then chakra infusion into the sealing area once he had initiated the seals. He had stored so much of his chakra into the sealing area that it was basically a five minute procedure after he let Gyouko take over. When it was done Naruto collapsed as he had expected and when they picked him up to take him to bed they noticed his back. The Heavenly Wings seal, allowing anyone with enough power to gain wings, but this was modified. It allowed Naruto to go into a sort of hanyou mode where he would gain demon features and when he chose the seal he also chose the features. He would sport wings that were as gold as his hair. It had confused him that when he entered the Sealing School his hair had turned back to its normal colors. This was explained to him that to keep some of the altering seals out it must have weakened the hold of the Kyuubi's modification. (A.N.: Had to explain the blondie bit from the last chapter)

Naruto awoke two days later, which surprised him since he figured he would probably be out of it for around a week, to notice he felt stronger. He looked at his tattoo to see he had gained two full tails during the sealing. He never knew how much of the Kyuubi's chakra he could handle, so two ninths of it seemed like a lot to him and in fact it was. He would have to talk to Kyuubi soon to learn to control his power. He noticed a presence near his side when he started adjusting to life again. Sure enough it was her. She would stick with him through think and thin and they both knew it. He had fallen for her since their eyes first met. His Moroi-chan was with him. Long since had he forgotten the childish crush he had on his former teammate Sakura and he never looked back. He was sad though. He knew he had to leave to help Gaara and eventually go back to the leaf to gain the position of Hokage. After all Naruto was Naruto and nothing could change that.

"Moroi-chan time to wake up," he said to his sleeping beauty as he brushed her hair out of her face and planted a kiss on her nose.

"Naruto-kun, are you awake already?" she asked while she was sitting up. "It has not been a week already has it?"

"No it has not. I am a bit surprised as well." He smiled and pulled himself out of his bed.

"Well let's get you some food. You must be hungry. No food for two days cannot be good for you. After that you are supposed to see Gyouko-ojii and explain why you didn't tell him about your Heavenly Wings addition to your seals."

After a quick shower and a hearty breakfast Naruto headed off to Gyouko's office knowing full well what was in store for him.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me? What if there had been unforeseen effects had the seal suddenly opened during the finishing of the sealing. You know I did not tell you how to make that seal for your own use and if you had wanted to use it you know you should have come to me first. You may be a hotshot in the sealing world and a seal master candidate, but you are still my subordinate for now. I also was wondering how long you drained chakra into the seal before the ceremony. It took me only five minutes after your original twenty to finish the seal. Normally a seal of that caliber would take hours if not days to complete. You never fail to amaze me young Uzumaki."

Gyouko's speech was taxing on the boy's brain. He had a lot of explaining to do.

"Well, as for the Wings, I added it because it seemed insignificant compared to the others and I though you had seen it during your examination. I am sorry and I did not mean to go against you. It was only about fifty percent of my chakra in the seal when I started and I pushed a lot in at the initial get go so you would not have to do as much. As for being a seal master, when will I know if I am one?" Naruto finished making sure he had covered the major points.

"Heh, boy you are already a seal master. Your sealing has exceeded mine the minute you put the seals on yourself. If you will not be the sealing school master it does not take from your level. I also hear you have gained summon mastery when you called out two boss summons at once. You are called a master when you get a tattoo from the summons if you didn't know." Gyouko explained.

"Wow," was all Naruto could say. They ended their time before lunch discussing classes Naruto had to do before he left which Naruto decided to leave before the end of the month which was already half over.

At lunch Naruto was unusually quiet. Thinking to himself about telling Moroi he was going to leave. He never wanted to leave her because he feared it would break her heart. He knew bringing her was also not an option since he had many enemies out there still. He was unsure of what to do and knew he had to ask Moroi for her input. After a while of avoiding the topic he slowly approached her.

"Moroi-chan, I think we need to talk."

"What is it Naruto-kun?" she asked worriedly as she saw the sad expression on his face.

"Well," he began, "you know I have to leave soon and I was wondering what would happen with us. I don't want to lose you Moroi-chan and being without you for so long will make me sad." He explained to his beautiful princess.

"Is that all Naruto? You know you can visit me here while you are training and when you decide to move back to Konoha I will move back there with my parents. I should also be done with my training here soon. You seemed to have finished before me, but I know you are just more determined."

"Hai, I would like that and you are determined as well. I can see it in your eyes Moroi-chan. Let's go we have one more class before dinner time and no use wasting time." He said as they went off to teach a class.

* * *

Naruto's training at the monastery school was completed. He had become a seal master and a summoning master all within the time he was training. It was an incredible feat for a young shinobi of only sixteen years of age. He was told he had even surpassed Sandaime's legacy of power at a young age. He thought back to his training with Gikou and how all of the Mist Swordsmen were considered Kenjustu Masters; he had remembered that he was going to have to meet up with the surviving ones to be inducted. He thought he might as well make that happen once he got back to the sand and fixed Gaara's demon problem.

When the day for him to leave arrived it was turned into a happy day. Moroi fixed him his favorite breakfast and they spent all day together. In the evening there was a celebration for him and everyone attended. There was even a cake served after the ramen dinner. After the celebration ended he and Moroi ended up together in his room. Not saying a word both of the got into bed hugged and went to sleep. There were no words needed to express anything. They loved each other and they both knew it. Tomorrow was going to be a draining day and they needed rest.

As morning finally arrived Naruto woke up and smiled at the bundle of hair on his arm. He kissed her head before getting up and packing quietly hoping not to disturb his sleeping princess. When he finished packing he looked up to see her smiling at him. He smiled back and she got out of bed to kiss him. It quickly turned into a very long kiss and when it was finally done Naruto left to get breakfast in a daze. After breakfast he got his bag and walked to the door. His blonde hair shining in the light and his bright smile as he walked off put a smile on everyone's face. They knew he was destined to do amazing things.

With his sword on his back Naruto noticed he no longer needed his special straps to hold his sword in place. He had grown considerably in his time at the sealing school now standing just over six feet tall. He made a quick sealing note and stuck it to his back and then put the sword in place above it to hold it there. For an onlooker it would look like the sword was just sticking to his back as if by magic. It didn't take long for Naruto to reach the sand village. He figured using Shuunshin was too much of a short cut so he just ran at his normal speed with only a slight gravity modification on him so he wouldn't have to exert himself too much. When he reached the gates they asked him for his destination and he simply told them he was going to see the local sword smith, which was true. Satisfied with his answer they let him through since he wore no hidden village emblem and did not seem to have a very high chakra, since he had his masked off.

When he arrived at Gikou's he was not surprised to see nothing had changed there. One or two new swords were on the wall, just simple katanas or smaller daggers which ANBU might use, with Gikou sleeping in the corner. Well to someone else it might appear that he was sleeping, but Naruto knew better. Instead he took off his sword and slammed it on the counter to annoy the older man.

"Wake up you old fart," he yelled, "I need some assistance on my blade."

"Yea, yea give me a minute," Gikou replied getting up to look at the sword. When he saw it he immediately looked Naruto up and down wondering if it was the same kid who had come to him years ago with a dream. "That you brat?" he asked suspiciously.

"Hai, but I am not a brat you short old man." Gikou laughed at that and while he and Naruto were discussing Naruto's trip Gaara entered.

"You're back," Gaara simply stated, "Welcome."

"Haha, nice to see you too Gaara. Sorry for leaving on you, but I am sure you will like what I have accomplished. How about some ramen?" he asked the red headed shinobi.

"Ok, let's go."

"See ya later old man," Naruto said as he walked out the door. Gikou nodded and went back to his chair wondering how it was so easy for the Kazekage and Naruto to get along. He knew he didn't have time to ponder those things though. If Naruto still showed his excellence in Kenjutsu he would have to get around to calling up his old buddies and his troublesome brother for an induction meeting.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Sorry for the long wait but I had quite a bit of writers block. I ended up reading almost every fiction 10k words + during this time. Um so yea Naruto is getting really strong now. Next chapter will deal with Sharkboy and the Weasle. I had something I wanted to explain, but now looking back I cannot remember what it was. I hope I didn't contradict myself in saying Moroi has family in Konoha. I should probably go back over some of the older chapters. Thanks to all those who review and keep them coming.

_'**Text**'_ - Kyuubi talking to Naruto  
_'Text'_ - Thoughts  
"Text" - Speech

Naruto 'talks' to Kyuubi through his _'thoughts'_.


End file.
